Are Fashion Bloggers In Love With Themselves?

Hey all!  I'm moving up to Oregon for school and won't be active/have new content until Monday - see you all then!

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The point of having a fashion blog is to show your readers your style and your opinions.  One could say that being a personal style blogger is extremely self obsessive, and I can see where they're coming from.  Posting pictures of yourself day after day can give off that vibe. So, are we obsessed with ourselves or just doing our jobs?

Thinking of making this my background for the blog. Thoughts?

I personally believe that we have to be confident in ourselves to have a fashion blog. For example, if the blogger in question is a personal fashion blogger, then it is his or her job to post themselves looking fashionable.  We have a target demographic and this demographic is interested in fashion that average people would wear.  And, if bloggers leave thoughtful comments, it builds a strong network of people who are interested in one another. This includes criticism, since having a fashion blog means getting judged.

That is in a perfect world, though.  Bloggers don't leave thoughtful comments all of the time, so it's difficult to build a relationship with a blogger who posts "nice shirt" and never returns.  But it certainly inflates our ego.  And, if self promotion pays off, people will follow your blog, which results in comments and pageviews.  Which, of course, inflates our ego even more.

It starts small.  Maybe GOMI will feature you for thinking you're the greatest thing because a fan knew who you were in public.  And you focus an entire post on yourself - not on clothing, fashion, or the person who approached you - but on yourself.  This may have been completely unintentional.  But talking about yourself all of the time comes across as self absorbed (whaaaa?). 

Then you start doing crazy things.  Like getting your twitter verified and publishing books full of content that a person could get from your blog.

(Slightly) Exaggerated to get the point across. 

This is all a snowball effect, but it happens to the best of us.  On a smaller scale, one could say we are self focused because it's our goal to promote our blog have it be through commenting or doing guest posts.

So, to answer the question "are we obsessed with ourselves or just doing our jobs?", I find that it takes a bit of the first to accomplish the "job", especially if the blogger is a personal style blogger. However, when our ego starts getting too inflated, the job becomes self promotion with fashion on the side.

So, do you guys think fashion bloggers are a little too obsessed with themselves? Do we forget that the point of blogging is fashion and not trying to get pageviews?

Thanks for reading!  Feel free to defend yourselves.

Edit: If this offends you, of course I'm sorry. I felt that this was something to bring up.  Many of the bigger bloggers have some sort of clique, which excludes regular bloggers (like me).  I feel that if they were more open to their audience and not so focused on themselves, we would have a stronger community.  In no way am I trying to offend my readers - I'm thankful for each of you! But as fashion bloggers, big or small, we run the risk of becoming self absorbed.  Do you know of any ways to prevent this?

Short Shorts/ Green Jacket

Jacket: Old Levi's, Shirt: Michael Stars, Shorts: Levi's

Figured I'd be a flamingo.  I mean, why not?

I got some powder from Tom Ford the other day...Not that you can tell.  I just wanted to share because I love myself that much.

For the first time in a long time, it rained in San Diego. It was light, but it gave me a reason to wear a jacket.  Now it just needs to get below 70 so I can wear my new jeans.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I went to Beverly Hills and bought myself some makeup and nail polish.  I have to say, Tom Ford has some vibrant and unique nail colors.  Total treat, though.  Thirty bucks is a lot for nail polish!

Not much to say today.  I still have this question - What type of monetization do you find least obnoxious?

See you all tomorrow!

P.S. - If you could give my FB page a bit of love I'd be very appreciative!

Very (f)irst clothing haul - be gentle.

Hello everybody!  Today I've decided to show off present my clothing haul for my upcoming school year. Extremely interesting and humble, I know.  But I just love everything so much I want to brag share with everyone.  Nearly all of this was on sale, too! Items will be presented left to right.

• T. Babaton mustard sweater: A gift from my boyfriend while we were in Canada. The sweater is cashmere and has a great color.  I'll be wearing it a lot this school year, by itself or with collared shirts.
• Lucky Brand ballet flats: Simple and simplistic, but sorely needed.
• Citizens of Humanity jeans: OH GOSH, I'm so lucky to have these babies.  I got them for 75 bucks.  Yes, that's still a lot, but I need to invest in jeans.  I want them to last forever and Oregon rain is pretty harsh my old, cruddy jeans.
• Paige jeans: Yet another pair of designer jeans I was able to get at a great price.  Keep an eye on Bloomingdales' sale section - I got these babies on Labor Day, but good sales do happen spontaneously.

• Urban Outfitters cardigan: Now, I get the whole "don't wear white after Labor Day" rule, but I'll probably wear this every so often during the Fall (such an anarchist).  Got it on big sale, fits well - I couldn't pass it up.
• Hudson jeans: Yeah, I paid full price on these.  They are so great - I couldn't help it.  These jeans are jet black, a first for a pair of jeans I own.  So happy I got them, so worth it.
• Cusco top: I got this top and a green sweater for fifty bucks altogether on Labor Day.  It was a 75% off sale.  I'm surprised I didn't buy the entire store.

So yes, it was a glorious week of shopping.  Many dollars were lost in order to gain clothing on huge sale.  It was a sacrifice I was willing to make.  So I hope you all enjoyed looking at what I purchased and, if I was rolling in money, I would buy you all the same thing.

Also, I'm planning on monetizing eventually but I don't want to be an obnoxious sell out (rather just be obnoxious). I'm thinking of sponsors or rstyle - one is promoting other blogs and the other is stealthy.  Which way is better in terms of not selling out?  Is there another valid method?

Art as Fashion

To say I love art would be an understatement. This may be a bit dramatic, but I'm planning on making it my life since I'm an Art History student. And, since it's part of my life, might as well make it part of my wardrobe. Here are three pieces of clothing and accessories that I find to be extremely artistic and different. Art as fashion seems to be a growing trend, one which I am very excited to see evolve.

Air Tattoo 

Vine by Air Tattoo

Air Tattoo is "Wearable Art For Your Neck". I love the idea behind this Kickstarter.  There are four different necklaces to choose from, all vastly different from one another and giving off different moods. And, while these are some great designs, I don't know how practical they'd be or how well they would go with clothing.  Sure, they look good on a naked model - baby vomit would look good on a naked model (too far?). But, on a clothed model, it looks a bit...awkward.

All that said, I may still take a chance on these beauties.  There's only three days left to get them until the campaign ends on Kickstarter, so get on it!

Black Milk Clothing

Der Kuss Dress for 90 AUD

Holy mama, I freakin' love Black Milk. Black Milk is a clothing company based in Australia that loves nylon. They have legging, bathing suits, and dresses which are all made with fashion aware girls in mind.  My favorites are the pieces with classic art printed on them. The picture above is a print of Der Kuss by Gustav Klimt, one of my favorite pieces of art.  There are other pieces featuring pieces by Van Gogh and pieces which are just plain artistic. 

Wearing Black Milk definitely takes some guts because the pieces are so loud. But, I think the payoff is worth it.  If only James Jean was featured on the site...

James Jean Jewelry

Constellation for 600 USD 

James Jean, my favorite living artist, has a beautiful line of jewelry.  There are five "sections" in his line - Drip, Butterfly, Bone, Strata, and Bat. They are all so vastly different but beautiful and detail oriented.  However, these pieces are insanely expensive.  Nothing is under 300 dollars, which is very disappointing since his jewelry is so unique.

He offers scarves and shirts as well. If you have the money, go for it.  Maybe buy me something while you're at it.

Do you guys have any pieces you love which incorporate art into the aesthetic? Hate art as fashion?  Feel free to tell me about it!

Ally

Oh, Canada!

Dress: Free People (similar)

Look at those boobs - I mean details...

Hello, hello.  I took a little break last week because I was in Canada.  I've never been to Canada and it was pretty enjoyable.  My boyfriend has family up there and his cousin was getting married. So, he invited me to go!  People are pretty nice up there (maybe I was just noticing this because of the stereotype) and the scenery is gorgeous.  I stayed in Ontario, more specifically Ottowa and Toronto.

Here we are at the wedding. I'm the one on the right.

Also, thank you all for the great comments on my last post.  I wasn't expecting such great feedback.

See you later in the week.